Either you love it or hate it, Thanksgiving, the season of giving thanks; true to it’s name I suppose, though it seems to be more of a celebration of gluttony than anything. The Holidays seem to be some of the more frustrating times for most and I can see why, people that you tend to avoid through out the year are forced into your bubble, well at least that rings true for me. I really am not a family person, or a friendly one for that matter, I like to be left alone, because of this I spend most of the year isolated off from society in my little cabin on the outskirts of town. I find living a lot more vibrant when it’s just me and nature, the birds that sing their sweet ballot in the mornings are my alarm clock while the crickets that conduct a masterful symphony each night are my lullaby. Life is just so much easier this way, I don’t have to worry about traffic, neighbors, or even time; that’s what I find so beautiful out here in the middle of nowhere; time seems to be irrelevant. I grew up in the big city and that’s all anybody ever talked about, time.
‘Did you get to work on time?’
‘Will you have enough time to finish?’
‘Don’t bother there is not enough time.’
Time, time, time, people in the city are obsessed with it and I was raised with the same mentality as everyone else. My mother bought me a wrist watch as early as I can remember; because she always needed me to be on time, though I did get to choose the design which was a ‘Spongebob Watch’ that I quite enjoyed; I even still have it tucked away in my jewelry box. Like everyone else I bowed to the malevolent force that is time and all I ever got out of it was a divorce and a early retirement. It wasn’t until my wife left me with the kids did I feel the need to leave, get away from the hell hole that was the big city and that’s when I found ‘her’ — nature.
How beautiful she was, it was love at first sight and it was right there and then I decided that I was no longer going to live life on their rules but more specifically their time. I pulled all of my savings and bought this quaint cabin at least several miles from the closet interstate, I say cabin but I think most would consider it a shack, I don’t care to me it’s a castle, an enchanting gateway to another world. I do everything myself which includes fishing for food and gathering wood for heat, I have the last of my clothes that I took with me that I’ve hemmed several times, honestly the life I had prior to finding my wonderland was slipping away from me; dissipating into the void of emptiness that was until I found a letter on my porch.
It was actually an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner with my family, a family I hadn’t seen in almost 10 years, I was a bit bewildered that they even had the ability to find my place; but what disturbed me more is why would they want me there? I wasn’t the best son or brother, after the divorce they all chose Kimberly’s side, they said that my obsession with time was pushing her to the edge; that they didn’t blame her. I honestly think they were crazy, accusing me of being obsessed with time while they all held on to their mobile phones as if it were treasure. At first I was going to deny their request, I didn’t care to see any of them, though in the letter it said my daughters would be there; the thought made me quiver. I hadn’t seen them since the day Kimberly stole them from me, I remember seeing the pain in their eyes as I cried out in absolute agony as their were torn from my grip, by now they should be approaching their 20’s and the thought of laying my eyes on them overwhelmed my heart with pure bliss.
It wasn’t easy but after a 6 hour bike ride I was back in the city, right away I felt the firm grip of time almost immediately clamp on to me as my eyes stared up at the sun knowing I needed to make it to my parents house before dark. Arriving I soon realized something was off, the oak tree that hovered over the small house was in the wrong place, it was suppose to be on the west side of the front yard but now at my befuddlement it was in the east. I shook my head thinking my memory perhaps was off, maybe living alone for so long had confused my memories so without giving it too much thought I knocked on the door. I stood still feeling a little nervous not knowing how my family would react at seeing me, usually I had a long beard but I figured I would revert back to how they last remembered me, clean shaven, though I know I’ve aged.
My sister opened the door, her smile couldn’t have been any bigger, she jumped into my arms embracing me with the longest hug, before I could get word in I heard my mother calling out to me, she came rushing towards us holding up a dinner plate with her two arms outstretched towards me.
“Taste the Mac & cheese” my mother told.
I peeled my sister off me and chuckled seeing that my mother was showing me affection in the only way she knew how and that was through food. I then reached down and hugged my mother, she smelled weird, it’s funny the memories one has from their childhood and one that I had was of my mothers Elizabeth Taylor perfume; she always wore it no matter the occasion a stench by my teen years I was tired of. I was going to make comment but before I could I heard a groan coming from the living room, a wet cough that simmered in the air; it was my dad, the man had suffered from chronic cough as long as I could remember. I walked into the living room and saw the old man sitting on his recliner staring at the T.V. eating that same ‘mac & cheese’ my mother offered me. I was expecting some comforting salute but instead he did the usual; he just ignored me a theme that encapsulated our relationship throughout my life. The funny thing is I noticed that my father was watching the same television set that we had when we were kids; a vintage tube box that was designed with wood grain.
“It’s been awhile but I think they have flat screens now” I told him.
Though, he kept his eyes fixated on the blurry screen as he scarfed down several spoon full’s of that yellowish macaroni. I then walked over to our dining room table taking a sit already feeling regret of showing up, so far nothing has changed, as always my sister excited to see me, my mother trying to feed me and my father well, it was how I remembered it all. The only hope that kept me from leaving was the prospect of seeing my daughters, the sunlight one waits for at the end of such a dreadful storm. I sat alone for several minutes listening to my sister and mother talk about dinner, right away I scoffed underneath my breath because I heard them talking about ‘time’; apparently they didn’t think they had enough time to finish cooking.
“Hey mom, what time are the kids suppose to get here, it seems to be getting late” I said with a bit of impatience.
My mother came into the dining room while holding a wooden stir spoon; her apron devastated by several layers of yellow cheese. That’s when she told me that the day was early, that they had enough time to show up. I don’t know why but that answer annoyed me, the sun was setting when I first arrived to town and I knew that it was late in the day. That’s when my mother opened the shades from living room and a burst of warm sunlight showered the dining room, it caused me to narrow my eyes. This made my skin crawl, it had to be impossible, the sun was clearly setting when I first arrived.
“What time is it?” I asked out loud since I didn’t have any way of telling time.
My mother giggled and told me it was early, she then put down her cooking utensils and walked into her bedroom. I remained confounded at how this was even possible, did I fall asleep and wake up the next day? My fathers television moaned out in static interrupting my train of thought, though I could feel a slight headache approaching. My mother then came back into the dining room holding something behind her back.
“I have a surprise for you” she told me.
She the revealed the gift holding up the small item as it some how only glowed in the sunlight, to my astonishment it was my ‘Spongebob wrist watch’.
“No.” I yelped out.
I still had that watch, how did she get it? Before I could even a get a word in, a kitchen timer went off and I heard my sister yell out to my mother
‘it was time’.
I held the comical kids watch in my hand completely bewildered of how this was even possible, I then realized the darn thing still worked, I could hear the ticking sound flutter into my ears. I then looked down at the time, it read that it was barely noon, that couldn’t be; the watch had to be broken. The door bell rang and my mother told me to answer it, that the dinner was almost ready, I was left with confusion but did as I was told. I walked by the living room and my father was still plowing down several spoon full’s of that macaroni.
“Don’t move dad I got it” I said playfully.
I opened the door and my heart dropped, the sight nearly causing me to faint from pure befuddlement. I took a step back mystified, it was my two daughters, the presence left me with a sensation of awe only to quickly understand the situation, they looked exactly how I remembered; they were still kids.
“What, it’s impossible” I whimpered out.
I stood frozen with no attempts to greet the loves of my life as they yelled out ‘daddy’; both running towards me. Kimberly also stood in the doorway looking on with a gaze of reluctance as my daughters clenched onto my legs, she too looked the way she did the day she left; even wearing the same clothes. I swallowed my trepidation and invited them inside, as I followed I walked past a mirror in the entry way, I was left utterly amazed; my reflection it was me but a younger version of me. I grabbed at my face, touching each area where once I had wrinkles or folds but now I was my old self; my younger self.
“Dinner is ready” my mother called out.
We all gathered around the feast my father carefully stepping over to the end of the table, my mother cautiously placed the serving tray in the middle of table as it was still covered hiding the delicious smelling turkey. At this point, I didn’t know what to think or what to believe other than accepting the reality that was presented to me, my daughters were here and Kimberly well, for whatever reason she was smiling at me, but that’s when I realized everyone was smiling at me; even my father. My mother then lifted the lid revealing the dinner she slaved away for hours making, my stomach sank, it was more of that abysmal ‘mac & cheese’.
“What is this?” I murmured out.
I looked around the dinner table and everyone was grabbing piles of that yellow slosh with their barehand and stuffing it into their mouths including my daughters. My mom then looked up at me with concern asking me if I was going to eat, I looked back down that that yellow substance and I could smell that same stench I had smelled earlier that was coming from my mother; it almost caused me to gag. My mother kept leering at me with disproval since I was reluctant to eat, her face inundated with bits of macaroni. She then told me that I had to eat that originally she was scared she wouldn’t have enough time to finish making dinner.
“Luckily I did, because remember there is always enough time for family” She said, the words causing me to shutter as I stared on with disbelief.
I don’t know what is happening, it’s been hours and my family continue eating that horrid ‘mac & cheese’ though I haven’t had a bite. I logged on to the family computer in attempts to reach out to anyone out there, maybe they can tell me what’s happening, funny, the computer is the same since I was a kid an old CRT monitor, even more whimsical is my parents still have dial up. Though one question haunts me more, the sun hasn’t gone down, it’s warm light still flutters in and when I look at my watch it still shows it to be noon; all while still ticking, each beat aligning with my heart. I don’t even know if it’s still Thanksgiving, someone, anyone, please help me.